A Pharmaceutical Turnaround Story

A few years ago drug maker Akorn was in intensive care. Today it's growing at 22% a year and boasts a healthy pipeline.

Four years after a new chief executive arrived at Akorn to shake things up, one thing is clear: This is no longer the same company.

Strategic missteps left the small specialty drug maker on the verge of collapse when Chief Executive Raj Rai arrived in 2009. Since then, he's restored annual profit by launching new drugs, raising prices, ditching money-losing ventures, and along the way reigniting research and development. Rai has also...